Global warming imperils Himalayan glaciers

Global warming could wipe out large areas of glaciers in the Himalayas and surrounding highlands, threatening livelihoods across much of Asia, Reuters reported climate scientists as saying in Beijing on Monday.
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Rising temperatures fuelled by greenhouse gases from industry and agriculture have already shrunk glaciers on the mountains dividing China and south Asia, experts say.
But Wu Shaohong, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said more rapid melting could severely disrupt river flows and rainfall patterns across Asia.
"If the rate of temperature rises does not change, glaciers on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau will rapidly shrink, perhaps from 500,000 square kilometres in 1995 to 100,000 square kilometres in 2030," Wu told a news conference.
Glaciers across the Himalayas and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are a major source for rivers such as the Yangtze in China, the Mekong in Indochina and the Ganges in India.

Global warming could wipe out large areas of glaciers in the Himalayas and surrounding highlands, threatening livelihoods across much of Asia

Photo by David Watterson

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